WADENA COUNTY

Emerald ash borer confirmed for the first time in four Minnesota counties

Pioneer Journal staff report — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 22:46:28 GMT

WADENA — The Minnesota Department of Agriculture confirmed Monday, June 23, emerald ash borer has been found in the city of Wadena. It is the first time the emerald ash borer has been reported in Wadena County, where a tree-care company submitted the finding — according to a report from Minnesota Department of Agriculture.

Wadena was one of several other areas in the state to be confirmed Monday for emerald ash borer, including new areas of Carlton County, and for the first time in Meeker, Murray and Otter Tail counties. In Otter Tail County, emerald ash borer was confirmed in Deer Creek. There are now 58 counties in the state with emerald ash borer.

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture is enacting emergency quarantines in Carlton, Meeker, Murray, Otter Tail and Wadena counties. All of Carlton County, excluding the Fond du Lac Reservation, will be quarantined. The entire counties of Meeker, Murray, Otter Tail and Wadena will be quarantined. The quarantines limit the movement of firewood and ash material out of the area.

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture issues quarantines for all areas known to have emerald ash borer (EAB) to reduce the risk of further spreading the tree-killing insect.

Emerald ash borer was first discovered in Minnesota in 2009. The insect larvae kill ash trees by tunneling under the bark and feeding on the part of the tree that moves nutrients up and down the trunk. Often, the trees show several signs of infestation because of this. Woodpeckers like to feed on EAB larvae, and woodpecker holes may indicate the presence of emerald ash borer. Also, EAB tunneling can cause the bark to split open, revealing characteristic S-shaped galleries underneath.

A virtual informational meeting for residents and tree care professionals will take place from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. on July 8. Experts from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture will give a brief presentation followed by a question-and-answer session. Register on the MDA website.

The public will also have an opportunity to provide input on the emergency quarantines before the quarantines become formal. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture is taking comments on the emergency quarantine now through Aug. 8 and recommends adopting the quarantine on Aug. 11. The proposed quarantine language can be found on the MDA website.

Comments can be made during the virtual meeting or by contacting Mark Abrahamson, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, 625 Robert St. N, St. Paul, MN 55155; or by email at mark.abrahamson@state.mn.us.

There is more emerald ash borer information on the MDA website.

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Minnesota dairy cow exhibitors scurry to get cows tested before show time

Michael Johnson — Wed, 19 Jun 2024 19:38:59 GMT

WADENA, Minn. — The Wadena County Fair kicked off on Wednesday, June 19, and Kami Hoemberg was as busy as ever trying to get her show animals checked in and ready for a few days of work and play.

She’s an expert at showing livestock at age 15 because she’s been doing this since she was 4. But a bit of a wrench was thrown into the mix this year.

Kami found out on June 13 that in order to show her prized milk cow, Heather, she’d have to quickly find a vet, who would have to take a milk test, deliver it to a lab and get a negative H5N1 test back before she could trailer her cow into the fairgrounds six busy days later.

The requirement came through from the Minnesota Board of Animal Health in an effort to limit the spread of the H5N1 virus among dairy cows and was effective June 18. Per the requirement, all lactating (currently producing milk) dairy cows must have both a negative H5N1 test result and a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection to attend any exhibition in Minnesota. The virus has been reported in 102 dairy herds across 12 states since late March, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Three dairy farm workers have also contracted the virus.

“While H5N1 influenza in dairy cases are still being studied across the country, initial insights show milk and the udders are a hotspot for influenza virus on infected cows, which makes showing lactating dairy at events a higher risk,” said Senior Veterinarian of Cattle Programs Dr. Katie Cornille in a news release. “Requiring a negative test before an exhibition reduces that risk.”

University of Minnesota Extension educator for Wadena County Kim Dailey works with the 4-H families closely, and as soon as she was notified of the new requirement she began making calls to the nine dairy families planning to show at the fair the following week. Wadena County is one of just three counties in the state having their fairs the same week that the new requirement went into effect. Others include Morrison and Norman counties.

Kami’s cow, Heather, comes from Amy and Ryan Roller’s farm, Red Root Holsteins, near Hewitt, Minnesota. Kami is their niece. The Rollers considered having their kids show a milk cow, but with the tight turnaround for testing, they opted out this year.

Brittani Oyster, Bertha-Hewitt �� ag teacher and a mother of 4-H youths, said their family wasn’t planning on bringing a milk cow to show this year either. They made that decision prior to new requirements coming into place. The Oyster family recently returned from the 2024 Minnesota State Holstein Show June 11-15 at the Stearns County Fairgrounds in Sauk Centre, Minnesota. Oyster noted a significant decrease in dairy showings this year. She attributes that to the concerns over the H5N1 virus.

“There were definitely a lot of people that did not bring their cows for that fear,” Oyster said.

Dailey was hopeful that all families would be able to get testing done in time for showing but also had her concerns knowing how hard the youth had prepared for the fair. Normally, animals are to be checked in on Wednesday, but exhibitors were given a variance that as long as they had a negative test prior to 9 a.m. on Friday, they could still get in.

“Our only issue this week is going to be the timing. We just have such a quick turnaround,” Dailey said. Dailey was told it takes 12-36 hours to get test results back. "I'm optimistic, that's all I can be."

Hoemberg said one of the big concerns for her when she heard about the requirement was making sure they could get a veterinarian to visit quickly. They had one over the next morning to administer the test. Confirmation of a negative test didn't come until Wednesday morning after Cami had done all her trimming and prep work to make sure Heather was ready for showing.

The negative test was expected, yet a relief, as Kami had to work quickly to get all her animals in a row. She’ll be at center stage at 9 a.m. Friday for the dairy show, showing Heather for the third time, and showing livestock for the 11th year in a row.

The Minnesota Board of Animal Health reported that H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza was confirmed in a Benton County dairy herd on June 6. It was the first positive test in Minnesota. The Board asks dairy farmers to closely monitor their herd and contact their veterinarian immediately if cows appear sick. The Board reports any new detections and updates on cow cases in Minnesota on its website.

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Menahga junior wins Nemeth Youth Art Show

Shannon Geisen — Mon, 03 Jun 2024 19:31:00 GMT

Twenty-five students from Bemidji, Menahga and Nevis schools submitted artwork to the Nemeth Art Center’s (NAC) annual youth showcase.

Farrah Laulainen, a junior at Menahga High �� (MHS), was awarded first place and won $300. Chante Ning Lafleur of Trek North High �� took second place and $200, while third place and $100 went to Taliea Honga, a sophomore at MHS. Gabriella Alsleben, a Menahga eighth grader, received an honorable mention and $50.

Judging was done by NAC artist-in-residence Madeleine Bialke.

The youth art show will be displayed until the end of June. The Nemeth Art Center is located in the historic old courthouse in Park Rapids.

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How zebra mussels spurred the Red Lake Nation push to return tribal lands

Melissa Olson / MPR News — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 18:16:00 GMT

ST. PAUL — Tribal nations across Minnesota are pressing to recover lands reserved for them under treaties signed by the U.S. government. While this has been described as a movement under the broad term “land back” the issues on the ground are specific to individual tribal nations. Red Lake Nation, north of Bemidji, is a prime example.

Recent bills introduced in the state legislature propose to transfer a mile-wide buffer of land around Upper Red Lake, including all state-owned land and property within Red Lake State Forest to Red Lake Nation. Many non-Red Lake band members in that area believe that would hurt the local economy — much of which involves recreational fishing.

In a statement released last week, Red Lake says it has no intention of limiting access to the lake for recreational fishing.

While the dispute over the area goes back more than a century, the discovery of invasive species in the lake led the tribe to accelerate its decision to press forward with its claim.

In 2019, a state Department of Natural Resources study of Upper Red Lake found zebra mussel larvae.

The thumbnail-sized mollusk is an invasive species threatening the health of walleye lakes across the state. Zebra mussels can be especially bad for walleye lakes as they filter out algae, a vital walleye food. Also, water infested with zebra mussels can be so clear there’s no place for young fish to hide.

Red Lake Nation operates a large, successful commercial fishery on Lower Red Lake, and the tribe relies on a walleye for commercial and subsistence fishing.

Red Lake’s Legal Counsel Joe Plumer says zebra mussels pose a serious threat to walleye on both Upper Red Lake and Lower Red Lake.

“The DNR told us they had neither the money nor the manpower to address zebra mussels in Upper Red Lake,” said Plumer.

There’s a pattern in the way the state DNR has left popular walleye lakes vulnerable to zebra mussels, including Mille Lacs Lake, Leech Lake and Lake Winnibigoshish, says Plumer.

Red Lake Secretary Sam Strong said, “We want to express our sovereignty and take a more active role in stewardship of the lake to combat zebra mussel and other invasive species.”

The Minnesota DNR confirms the DNR Commissioner did present its zebra mussel findings on to Red Lake five years ago.

However, the Minnesota DNR Communications Director Gail Nosek says the DNR was unaware the 2019 meeting prompted Red Lake Nation’s decision to move forward with a legal claim.

“Following the discovery of zebra mussel larvae in 2019, Minnesota DNR and Red Lake DNR came together and developed a multifaceted joint work plan focused on: watercraft inspection, monitoring, education and outreach, and communications,” said Nosek.

Strong said the tribe’s joint work plan with the state DNR is important to the tribe, but he’s concerned the state’s program isn’t enough to protect the lake from zebra mussels. Strong says that the state DNR can check only a small percentage of boats launched on public landings along Upper Red Lake.

If the state bill were passed, Strong says the Red Lake’s DNR could inspect and decontaminate those fishing boats.

Upper Red Lake dispute stretches back more than a century

Bemidji State University history professor Anton Treuer is the author of “Warrior Nation: A History of the Red Lake Ojibwe.” His research follows the story of Red Lake Nation from the mid-18th century to the present.

It also includes the signing of an agreement with the United States in 1889. Treuer says Red Lake chiefs negotiated for exclusive use of the lakes because they believed it necessary to their ability to make a living for themselves and future generations.

“The legal standard across the United States of America for evaluating treaties is, ‘What was the understanding that Native people had at the time it was signed,’” said Treuer. “There’s no doubt that the people of Red Lake understood that they would keep all of Upper Red Lake and all of Lower Red Lake when at the signed they signed the Nelson Act. There’s no doubt.”

Treuer says multiple sources recount a moment when Henry Rice, a prominent figure in Minnesota politics, acting on behalf of Congress, agreed to terms set out by Red Lake’s chiefs. They recount Rice swore a promise to Red Lake chiefs, they would reserve both lakes for their exclusive use.

Distrustful of the U.S. Government a Red Lake Chief Medwe-ganoonind drew a circle around Upper Red Lake and Lower Red Lake, including a 1-mile buffer around Upper Red Lake.

Somewhere the map disappeared. What happened to it? “We can’t capital ‘K’ say we know,” said Treuer.

Later when a map was added to an official record of the treaty negotiations — the reservation boundary split off Upper Red Lake and the eastern most portion of the lakeshore remained outside the reservation’s boundaries. Since that time, generations of Red Lake leaders have argued Upper Red Lake was unjustly taken from the tribe.

Opposition to the bill

Robyn Dwight, president of the Upper Red Lake Area Association believes the bills at the legislature could reduce access to the lake and could greatly damage the local tourist economy.

“This legislation would upset a relationship which would be devastating for business on the forests, the parks, the farmland and the public waters,” said Dwight. She described it as “a magnet for tourism around the continent. The local economy from here to the Twin Cities would feel the pain.”

Dwight says her group staunchly supports keeping the lake healthy. She points to the association’s participation in local campaigns and state sponsored projects working on the issue.

“We value the water, and we take our responsibility as steward of this lake very seriously. Closing this lake to a segment of the society is divisive and destructive, which is why we strongly and unanimously oppose the current legislation and any efforts to turn back time despite the costs.”

Red Lake Secretary Sam Strong said the proposed state legislation does not include any portion of Upper Red Lake itself.

Strong says the larger claim to Upper Red Lake or any change to the reservation’s boundaries would involve the federal government. Only the federal government has the authority to make agreements with tribal nations or alter reservation boundaries.

Strong said Red Lake is pressing ahead on a strategy at the federal level for the return of Upper Red Lake. He expects that process will likely take years to accomplish.

“We do not have years to wait if we hope to protect both lakes from invasive species,” says Strong. “The time is now.”

Strong said Red Lake DNR is equipped to manage lands around Upper Red Lake and that it has worked on stewardship of land and water resources in the area for decades.

A legislative deadline arriving in a few weeks will determine whether the proposed legislation will move ahead this year or wait until a future session to advance.

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Her 17-year-old sister was murdered in 1976. Now this Minnesota author recounts the harrowing story.

Nicole Stracek — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 12:31:00 GMT

SEBEKA, Minn. — It took Lisa Colsen 47 years to write the story of her sister’s disappearance and murder.

When she did, it fulfilled a promise she made to her sister Sandra (Sandi) Karnes all those years ago.

It was a story that Colsen began writing in 1976 at the age of 16 in the midst of the search for her sister, and now, at 63, her book, “Shadows of Yesterday,” tells the tragic story of her sister's disappearance on a cold winter night in December 1976 and the aftermath that would follow Colsen throughout her life.

“I always said that when I got the book published everyone would know her. That’s what my goal was other than for sanity,” said Colsen. “For her not to be forgotten.”

In 2023, Colsen would go back and revisit the pages that she wrote all those years ago — from seeing evidence of a crime inside her sister’s home to the four-month-long search to the discovery of her sister's body by police in a shallow grave in a wooded area in southeastern Otter Tail County.

Published in December 2023, “Shadows of Yesterday” is a story that Colsen carried with her for over four decades to keep her sister’s memory alive, and to one day share the story of her sister’s murder and the details that led up to finding the killer.

December 1976

Sandra Karnes was many things all at once — a vibrant young woman, headstrong and resilient. She was a devoted friend, a daughter and a sister to eight siblings.

“Sandi was excitable and had her goals she wanted for her life and had them all set in stone,” said Colsen.

Colsen said her sister was open and honest, a spirited person with a great laugh. Before she went missing, Karnes had plans to attend the technical college in Alexandria to study nursing. She was 17 years old when she went missing, just one month shy of her 18th birthday.

In the book, Colsen describes the trials and tribulations of growing up with parents who struggled with alcoholism. It would lead to a series of moves throughout her life, from an 80-acre farm to a small, two-bedroom home and, for a time, foster care.

According to Colsen, when she was about 6 or 7 years old, she went into foster care alongside her sister. They were placed in the same foster care home together, and Karnes, being one year older than Colsen, was her little sister’s protector. Later, her mom divorced their father and would eventually remarry, but the family’s struggles with alcoholism would prevail, often leaving the children with little supervision.

A testament to their close bond, Colsen describes a memory in her book of the two sisters hitchhiking in 1975.

“Sandi wanted to go see the ocean. We only had $3, and after carrying our suitcase for a short while, we ditched those, too, because they were too heavy to carry,” said Colsen.

The two young sisters, ages 15 and 16, made it as far as Fargo. With no money, no change of clothes or a place to stay, they slept outside underneath some bushes. Defeated, cold, and hungry, the two girls would get a ride back home from a postal worker. However, Colsen said the girls pinky swore that someday they would go see the ocean.

The disappearance and search for Sandi

In her book, Colsen describes the events that led up to discovering that her sister was missing, the four-month-long search that followed and the struggles that her family endured while searching for Karnes.

At the time of her disappearance, Karnes was working at Knute Nelson Care Center in Alexandria, Minnesota, and had just moved into a new apartment with a friend and coworker. The small apartment duplex home on Hawthorne Street was the last place Karnes was seen alive in December, 1976.

According to Colsen’s book, the same day Karnes moved in, her roommate had invited an old friend, a man named Harley Hayden Jr. (referred to as Harley Hallen Jr. in the book), to move into the apartment to help with the rent.

In her book, Colsen takes readers through the series of events that took place that day and what led the family and the police to suspect that something terrible had happened to Karnes.

From the blood evidence left behind and the statements made by the roommate and Hayden himself, to the eventual discovery of her sister’s body, Colsen describes the details of a crime that continues to haunt her as she recounts searching for her sister every night for four, long months.

In December 1976, Colsen was living in Glencoe, Minnesota, attending school, and she said she’ll never forget the day her mother called her asking if she knew where her sister was.

“She called me, she called all of us kids and asked if we knew where Sandi was,” said Colsen.

Karnes was reported missing on Dec. 3, 1976, just three days after she moved into the apartment. Hayden was the last person to see Karnes alive.

“I went to her home after the police had been there,” said Colsen. “I think I knew that she was gone, just by all the blood.”

Colsen describes going to her sister’s apartment with their mother, looking for any sign that she was still alive. Karnes’ coat, hat, gloves, and purse were left inside the apartment. Blood was found throughout the apartment inside the bathroom, in Karnes’ bedroom, on the walls and doors, and inside a small pantry closet in the kitchen. Evidence of a clean up was also present after police found that blood had seeped through the floorboards into the basement.

By 1976, Colsen said her mother and stepfather were in the throes of severe alcoholism. She describes the days and nights that followed searching for Karnes, with vivid memories of a search that would leave the family desperate for answers.

“You'd go through buildings, go through snow piles, you know, until it got dark. And that was our life for four months, it’s what we did. Then we went to (Hayden’s) home. It was suspected he had done something to her. But I mean, he took our whole family, not just my sister,” said Colsen.

After the police began to suspect Hayden had something to do with Karnes’ disappearance, he moved back into his parents' trailer park in Parkers Prairie. As they searched for Karnes, the family would routinely drive by his parents' mobile home, and in the book, Colsen describes a moment that she remembers vividly where her stepfather knocked on the door and asked for Hayden. It was then he pulled out a pistol and aimed it at Hayden, demanding to know where Karnes was.

“He raped her, and then he killed her. I’m assuming she said she was going to call the police, and I'm assuming he didn't want that, so he killed her. But he took her and loaded her in the back of his truck and just threw her away in the woods,” said Colsen.

According to Colsen, the police would later find blood inside Hayden’s truck that would lead both the police and the family to believe Karnes was no longer alive. Combined with the statements made by Hayden, the police suspected that Karnes was the victim of a homicide. Later, during the search of the apartment, police also found blood on a hammer that was inside a kitchen drawer.

According to an article published in the St.Cloud Times on April 5, 1977, officials said Karnes' death apparently was caused by a blow or blows to the head with a heavy instrument.

Karnes' partially nude body was found by police in April 1977, four months after she was reported missing, in a shallow grave in a wooded area in southeastern Otter Tail County.

The arrest of Harley Hayden Jr.

According to the article published in the St.Cloud Times, April 5, 1977, Hayden was indicted by a Douglas County grand jury on two counts of murder in February, 1977.

Hayden pleaded not guilty to both counts of first and second degree murder. He was held in the Douglas County Jail in Alexandria with bail set at $100,000. However, after the remains of Karnes were discovered by Alexandria Police Chief George McKay and his law enforcement team, Hayden’s lawyers opted for a bench trial rather than face a jury.

Hayden, 25, was charged with murdering 17-year-old Karnes and pleaded guilty to a second degree murder charge. According to a story published on April 27, 1977, in the St.Cloud Times, Hayden was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Hayden confessed to the murder of Karnes and told Morrison County District Court Judge Gaylord Saetre that he struck Karnes several times with a hammer. He said he then placed her body in the back of his camper truck and drove to his brother’s land, where he put her body in a wooded area beneath the snow. Hayden then said he returned to the site six days later to bury the body.

According to Colsen, Hayden would end up serving six and half years for the abduction and murder of her sister. However, Colsen said she doesn't harbor any bad feelings towards Hayden and turns to her faith when times are difficult.

“I know that no matter what, there is a final judge, so justice will be served,” said Colsen. “It may not be here right now, but it will be.”

A sister’s promise

Although most of the book was written when Colsen was 16 years old, she said going back to finish the book was something she knew she had to do. Through her own struggles with addiction, Colsen said that even during her darkest moments in life, she carried the pages she had written with her.

“I didn't think anybody would understand how you could carry these papers with you your whole life and not lose them, but only God knows that,” said Colsen.

Publishing her book fulfilled a longtime dream to tell her sister’s story, and it also fulfilled a promise she made to her sister all those years ago.

“Last year, in December, I just thought, I’m 63, and I promised this to her years ago, when we were searching for her, that I would keep her memory alive and I would tell this story,” said Colsen.

Over the next 45 years, Colsen would go on to have her own children and grandchildren. She lives with her husband in Sebeka and does foster care. She is an animal lover, enjoys reading, riding horses and taking long walks.

She dedicated her book to retired chief of police, George McKay, for being such a good friend to her family during the long process of searching for her sister. It is also dedicated to her sister Sandi, her brother Calvin (Cal), who tragically took his own life, her parents and her grandchildren Oscar and Avryonna, who were tragically taken much too soon.

In her book, Colsen writes, “I want others to know that you can overcome the horrors that are directed at us to become better people.”

"Shadows of Yesterday" by Lisa L. Colsen can be purchased on Amazon.

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Homebase Housing Services, Inc. tackling ‘the invisible crisis’

Robin Fish — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 17:20:00 GMT

“The goal of the program is to help those who are homeless, or at risk of homelessness, find and maintain housing,” said Ryan Menzel of Brainerd, owner and CEO of Homebase Housing Services, Inc. (HHS).

With offices in Brainerd and Park Rapids and a third location starting up in Fergus Falls, the company is a housing stabilization provider licensed through the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS).

Menzel said their main office in Brainerd was licensed and started serving clients in 2021. The Park Rapids office opened soon afterward with the help of a provider capacity grant from the DHS. The office employs three housing coordinators, with Menzel himself also carrying a case load.

“Nobody escapes being a front-line worker,” he said. “I got this going to make something happen, so everybody gets to do something.”

Companywide, they mainly serve Aitkin, Crow Wing, Hubbard, Todd, Wadena, Becker and Otter Tail counties, employing five housing coordinators in Brainerd, three in Park Rapids and one in Fergus Falls, and planning to hire a few more.

According to Menzel, HHS' program offers:

Housing consultation – developing a “housing-focused, person-centered plan” based on the barriers and needs of each client. Transition – helping clients find housing by searching for available resources, reaching out to property managers on their behalf, coaching clients on how to be a good tenant, helping them apply for vouchers and coordinating with other providers like MAHUBE-OTWA. Sustaining – helping clients maintain where they live, educating them about lease compliance, finding energy assistance and navigating other resources. “A lot of skill building,” said Menzel. “A lot of building that relationship with the property manager.” Defining 'homelessness'

Homelessness and housing instability are a broader issue than most people think, Menzel said. It isn’t just about people living on the street.

“We have many people that we serve who are couch surfing,” he said. “They’re living with a relative or a friend, and they stay there for a week or two, and then they go to somebody else’s, and then somebody else’s.

“That’s housing instability, included in the definition of being homeless. Essentially, they’re not on a lease. It’s not guaranteed where they’re going to stay the night.”

Menzel said there has to be a documented disability to receive housing stablization services.

“It’s a Medical Assistance-funded program,” he said. “So, they have to be on Medical Assistance, over the age of 18; there has to be a physical disability, a mental health or substance use disorder, and then have some sort of either homelessness or housing instability.”

Some of HHS' clients, he said, are trying to rebuild their lives after drug or alcohol issues – a background that makes it hard to get a lease.

“We can come in and advocate for them,” he said. “Beyond Backgrounds is a program specifically for those with challenging backgrounds, dealing with those who have been evicted before makes it a challenge to find new housing.”

Some of their clients come on services with an active eviction notice, Menzel said. HHS can then call the property manager to ask what can be done to change the situation. It can be as simple as catching up on their rent.

“We don’t have the vouchers,” he clarified. “We don’t have direct funding to provide rent assistance. Our job is to go find what other resources that person may qualify for and help them apply for that, help them through the process.”

Greatest challenge: lack of affordable housing

He likened their job to case management, only applied to housing.

“Part of it is just explaining to people that a lease is a legal document,” he said, where both the tenant and the property manager have rights and responsibilities; explaining what it means to be lease-compliant and coaching tenants about the issues that led to their eviction.

“We’ve been successful in working with property managers,” said Menzel. That includes building relationships and being open with them about setbacks that could cause tenants to fall behind on their rent.

“One of the greatest challenges is the lack of affordable housing,” he said. “That’s one of the things that we’re doing constantly – finding out what’s available.”

Especially in rural areas, limited supply can create housing wait lists of six months to a year or more to get into a unit or a voucher program.

“The biggest thing that keeps me up at night is the frustration when someone is homeless, or they’re facing that instability,” he said, “not being able to find a spot for them immediately.”

HHS' program works toward long-term housing, but the interim from when a client faces homelessness can be difficult. Shelters fill up, Menzel said.

‘Be a part of the solution’

Asked what drew him from sales and marketing and business development to the social services world, Menzel said, “I’m a veteran, and I’ve had some challenges in my life. I looked at, how can I help others who are struggling?

“Then I found out about housing stabilization services. I had realized early on the importance of stable housing, whether someone was dealing with mental health or substance use recovery. Having stable housing was the bedrock of being able to build off that. If you don’t know where you’re going to spend the night, or if you’re waiting for your cousin or your brother-in-law to boot you out of the house, it’s really hard to focus on recovery or mental health.”

Once he started working in the field, Menzel said, he saw that the need was even greater than he had realized.

“I was really drawn to this, and I figured I could use my skill set to be part of the solution,” said Menzel. “Our tagline is, ‘Where there is a need, be a part of the solution.’ We can’t solve all of the issues. Our part is helping guide people in searching for housing, or maintaining. So, we can be a part of the overall solution.”

An invisible crisis

Another big challenge, he said, is that people don’t realize how big the need is. It isn’t as visible in the local area as in bigger cities, where the media show images of homeless people living on the streets.

“Some of the people that are on services are staying in the attic of a garage (where) there’s no heat or water, and that’s the only place for them,” said Menzel. “They’re not physically on a corner, sleeping on the street, panhandling. But they’re staying in a place that’s not habitable. They’re homeless, but because it’s not visible, you can kind of not realize that there’s an issue.

“I would encourage the community to start asking questions and trying to find how they can be a part of this.”

He stressed that HHS is one of multiple housing stabilization providers in the areas they serve, including MAHUBE-OTWA, and that people have a right to choose their provider,” he said.

Menzel added that they also partner with county human services case management, local churches and mental health providers.

‘Mission accomplished’?

Asked what “mission accomplished” will look like, Menzel said it’s on an individual, case-by-case basis – “if we can help not just find housing for them, but if the person is able to sustain that and, ideally, not need services,” he said. “Our piece is to get them stable in their housing.”

Bigger-picture, he said, he is looking at ways to bring more affordable housing into the area, because the need is greater than the supply.

“It’s heartbreaking when somebody comes in and they’re desperate for help, and I don’t have that quick solution,” he said. “We can find them a resource. Salvation Army, some of the other providers; a hotel voucher, to at least spend a night or two and get out of the cold and get a shower.

“‘Mission accomplished’ would be if someone came on services, and within a matter of days I could get them housed. As that period of time lessens, I would say it’s moving in the right direction.

“Ultimately, the goal would be to eradicate homelessness. That’s a tall order. It doesn’t mean we’re not going to try.”

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Minnesota counties stand to lose millions after Supreme Court ruling

Kirsti Marohn and Benjamin Clary / MPR News — Sat, 23 Dec 2023 12:00:00 GMT

MOUNTAIN IRON, Minn. — From his farmhouse in Cherry Township east of Hibbing, Darrin DeMars can see the 32 acres the government took from him.

The vacant field, once pasture for his beef cattle, was seized by St. Louis County in 2017 after DeMars failed to pay $1,500 in property taxes.

DeMars said he didn’t know about the tax bill until he saw a county employee taking photos of the property for auction in 2020. When he contacted the county about getting the land back, he was told it was too late. The county sold the land for about $33,000 later that year.

DeMars is now suing the county over the land sale and what he says is an unfair revenue generator for local governments. Minnesota is one of about a dozen states in the country where governments are allowed to routinely keep surplus revenues from forfeited sales.

In Minnesota, those forfeited properties generate millions of dollars that local governments use to run their operations, according to an analysis of public records by MPR News, APM Reports and the APM Research Lab.

St. Louis County, for example, received $7.2 million in profit from the sale of forfeited properties from 2017 to 2022 — an average of more than $1 million a year. Those proceeds were distributed among the county, cities, townships and school districts, as prescribed by state law.

The practice is now in question after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in May. The court ruled that Hennepin County violated the constitutional rights of 94-year-old Geraldine Tyler when it sold Tyler’s Minneapolis condominium for $40,000. Since Tyler owed the county $15,000 in unpaid taxes, interest and penalties, the court ruled she’s entitled to the remaining proceeds from the sale.

“Everyone realizes that things need to change after Tyler, and we’re seeing a lot of momentum to change in states across the country,” said Jim Manley, deputy director of state legal policy at the nonprofit Pacific Legal Foundation, which represented Tyler and is still involved in eight other forfeiture-related lawsuits.

DeMars’ lawsuit against St. Louis County seeks the surplus the government made when it sold his property. The land is just a sliver of the millions of acres of tax-forfeited properties across Minnesota.

“I haven’t stopped trying to figure out a way to get it back,” he said.

Ruling creates a ‘holding pattern’ in counties

The Tyler decision, along with lawsuits property owners subsequently filed against Minnesota counties, has created a lot of uncertainty. Many counties, including St. Louis, have paused selling tax-forfeited lands as they await answers.

One lingering question courts and lawmakers still need to decide is what the statute of limitations should be for former property owners to seek compensation.

Usually, it’s six years for constitutional claims, Manley said. But attorneys representing former property owners likely will push for longer.

Another question is how to handle long-ago forfeited land that’s become a significant source of income for local governments.

In northern Minnesota, counties manage 2.8 million acres of tax-forfeited property on behalf of the state. Most of the land was abandoned decades ago by timber or mining companies.

DeMars’ lawsuit alleges St. Louis County used the properties it seized to generate more revenue for itself by routinely selling leases for timber rights or other uses.

“These leases total millions of dollars per year and are generated by properties that (the county) unlawfully took without just compensation,” the complaint alleges.

St. Louis County has about 900,000 acres of tax-forfeited rural land that it manages for timber, minerals and conservation, said Brian Fritsinger, deputy county administrator.

Fritsinger said the lands provide jobs and revenue for local industries, as well as tourism and recreation opportunities. The economic benefit is “pretty significant,” he said.

The county has a land and minerals department with 50 employees who manage those forfeited properties, Fritsinger said. That could change, depending on what new rules the state develops, he said.

“Until then, we’re just kind of in this holding pattern,” Fritsinger said.

Tracking down the original owners of some of the tax-forfeited properties would be difficult, he said, because they’ve been in government possession for as long as 100 years.

Counties in limbo

Smaller counties might feel even more of a financial pinch.

Along with managing nearly 40,000 acres forfeited decades ago, Pine County also seizes about 20 new properties every year, and tries to resell those within a year or two, said Kelly Schroeder, county auditor-treasurer.

But that can take work. Many are blighted, with garbage and other junk left behind, she said.

“A lot of them are just abandoned,” Schroeder said. “The people — we try to find them and we can't find them, and a lot of times we find out they’ve passed away.”

The uncertainty from the court’s ruling has forced Pine County to recalculate its finances. Schroeder said she dramatically scaled back anticipated revenue from land and timber sales in next year’s budget from $250,000 this year.

“I initially put a big old zero in there for tax-forfeit land sales,” she said. Since then, she’s added $50,000 in revenue next year from timber sales only.

Schroeder is part of a group of Minnesota county officials that’s been meeting regularly since the Tyler decision to help craft proposed changes to the state’s forfeiture process, which they hope lawmakers will pass in the upcoming session.

A fix will involve a dramatic rewriting of state statutes, said Matt Hilgart, government relations manager for the Association of Minnesota Counties.

“This is truly throwing out a significant amount of the state’s tax forfeiture statutes … and starting anew,” he said.

There’s a lot that policy makers need to sort out, including how to determine a property’s worth. In some cases, counties are selling forfeited properties at auction for much less than their fair market value, Hilgart said, so it’s not clear how to calculate how much the former owner is entitled to.

County officials are debating what a new forfeiture system should look like, including how to make the process transparent to property owners, Hilgart said.

“If we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to clean things up and make it easier for folks going through this to understand what’s happening to them — and what are the on-ramps back to ownership — let’s do that,” he said.

Seeking ‘honest’ system

St. Louis County officials say they followed the forfeiture process outlined in current state law.

In DeMars’ case, that included publishing notice of the impending forfeiture in the newspaper and sending it by certified mail to DeMars’ current address, Fritsinger said.

The notice was returned “for reasons unknown,” but that’s not a valid legal excuse to postpone forfeiture, Fritsinger said. And because the property wasn’t occupied, they weren’t required to serve the notice in person.

DeMars said he hopes his lawsuit will help spur a fairer, “more honest” system. Rather than profiting from forfeiture, he thinks counties should be willing to work with people who owe property taxes.

And he said he wants the county to return the surplus value from the property the county seized from him.

“Either the property or the money — one or the other,” DeMars said.

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Burn restrictions in place for Hubbard, Becker, Beltrami, Wadena and Cass counties

Staff reports — Wed, 02 Nov 2022 17:55:35 GMT

As of Wednesday, Nov. 2, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is restricting open burning "due to increased wildfire risk from dry conditions across much of Minnesota," according to a news release.

The burning restrictions apply in the following counties: Aitkin, Anoka, Becker, Beltrami, Benton, Big Stone, Blue Earth, Brown, Carlton, Carver, Cass, Chippewa, Chisago, Clay, Clearwater, Cottonwood, Crow Wing, Dakota, Dodge, Douglas, Faribault, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue, Grant, Hennepin, Houston, Hubbard, Isanti, Itasca, Jackson, Kanabec, Kandiyohi, Kittson, Koochiching, Lac Qui Parle, Lake of the Woods, Le Sueur, Lincoln, Lyon, Mahnomen, Marshall, Martin, McLeod, Meeker, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Mower, Murray, Nicollet, Nobles, Norman, Olmstead, Otter Tail, Pennington, Pine, Pipestone, Polk, Pope, Ramsey, Red Lake, Redwood, Renville, Rice, Rock, Roseau, Scott, Sherburne, Sibley, Southern St. Louis, Stearns, Steele, Stevens, Swift, Todd, Traverse, Wabasha, Wadena, Waseca, Washington, Watonwan, Wilkin, Winona, Wright, Yellow Medicine.

The DNR will not issue permits for open burning of brush or yard waste in these counties until the burning restrictions are lifted. Residents should also take care with backyard campfires.

“Extreme drought conditions in combination with dry fall vegetation, low humidity, and wind make for dangerous fire conditions,” said Allissa Reynolds, DNR wildfire prevention supervisor. “Restricting open burning prevents a burn pile from escaping and becoming a wildfire.”

Burning restrictions will be adjusted as conditions change.

For more information and daily updates on current fire risk and open burning restrictions, visit the DNR's fire danger website at mndnr.gov/BurnRestrictions.

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In hearing, protesters maintain they had a right to be in the pathway of Line 3

Michael Johnson — Sat, 23 Jul 2022 18:25:37 GMT

WADENA, Minn. — A group of Line 3 protesters calling themselves the “Shell River 7” joined together once more Wednesday, July 20, almost one year to date from the day they were arrested and held at the Wadena County Jail, charged with trespassing and obstruction of the legal process.

On that day in 2021, a group of six women sat in lawn chairs, chained to one another on a heavy equipment boardwalk between the Shell River and the oncoming Enbridge oil pipeline. They were asked by law enforcement to unchain and leave, according to court records, but said they could not because they did not have a key for the locks. Law enforcement said in a search of the persons, no key was found.

The Enbridge Line 3 oil pipeline replacement was under construction starting in December 2020 and became operational in October 2021.

In the present case before the Wadena County District Court, six of those arrested were facing these charges in a joint omnibus evidentiary hearing. They sought a single contested omnibus hearing, as their cases present substantially similar facts and they are raising similar defenses.

The women include Cheryl Barnds (Maryland), Barbara With (Wisconsin), Kelly Maracle (New York), Trish Weber (Oregon), Mary Klein (California) and Winona Laduke, Ponsford, Minn. Photojournalist K. Flo Rozowsky was also arrested while documenting the event. Laduke, executive director of Honor the Earth, was not a part of this hearing as she is facing a separate trial, for the same incident, to be held in August. She has her own trial because she litgated her right to have her criminal case transferred to Tribal Court as a tribal member. LaDuke will continue to assert her tribal rights including her right to invite guests to join her in the ceremony despite a Wadena County judge’s denial of her motion to transfer the case to White Earth Tribal Court.

She was present Wednesday as witness No. 1 to be questioned by the defense.

LaDuke said she plays a central role as a tribal member of the group that has rights to be on the property as it lies within the ceded territory. Laduke claims that as a member of the Anishinaabe tribe she has a right and responsibility to invite guests to the territory for ceremonial purposes such as that day, where the group claims they were praying for the river.

Representing the state, Assistant Wadena County Attorney Adam Licari argued that the women did not have a right to be trespassing on posted private property.

The group call themselves water protectors, as they say their goal is to protect the river from the then planned, and now completed, horizontal directional drilling that took place deep under the Shell River for the now active Line 3 oil pipeline. About 10 days prior to their arrest, Laduke said she was named Guardian ad litem of the Shell River by the 1855 Treaty Commission and by the White Earth Band of Ojibwe. She said it is her responsibility to take action steps to protect the river.

In the hearing, Laduke and the defense attorneys maintained those arrested were lawfully there, standing or seated in the public Huntersville State Forest, all of which is also within the Anishinaabe-ceded territory. This is also what Laduke asserted in her hearing in April.

The reasons members of the Northern Lights Task Force arrested the group that day was for trespassing on an Enbridge Line 3 easement, a right of way where the Line 3 pipeline now actively transports oil. The probable cause statement says that signage along the easement indicated there was to be no trespassing on the site. This task force was composed of 16 northern Minnesota counties and state agencies such as the State Patrol, the DNR and the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Among those involved were Wadena County Sheriff’s deputies.

Who has rights to be on the property is one side of the issue brought up by the defense. Another was that law enforcement were told to disperse or remove those trespassing that day, apparently listening to requests from Enbridge. But when the protesters told law enforcement that they had a right to be on that property, law enforcement instead listened to the assertion that Enbridge had rights to operate on the easement, the defense reasoned. The defense argued that law enforcement that day showed bias against the water protectors because Enbridge was providing payments to law enforcement, through an escrow account, for dealing with protests along the easement. They argued that law enforcement listened to Enbridge but not the protesters, without having sufficient evidence of whether the protesters were, in fact, trespassing.

Wadena County Sheriff’s officers brought to the witness stand confirmed that they were “indirectly” paid through the escrow account for their work at the Line 3 site, though it was not known how much money they received.

The defense continued to argue that law enforcement did not know if the protesters were trespassing or not.

“It does not appear any officers reviewed legal paperwork to determine if it was lawful trespass or not,” defense attorney Claire Glenn stated.

Wadena County District Court Judge Doug Clark argued against the defense’s questioning, which he said was attempting to show bias. He said that either the women had a right to be there or they did not. Either it was an Enbridge easement or it was not. That was the determining factor of trespass.

“Somebody saying they did have a right to be there or not doesn’t change that. It’s not relevant,” Clark said.

Clark will now take the matter under advisement and gave attorneys three weeks to file any briefs with the court, as well as a month for the state to respond to the briefs.

LaDuke's next trial date is Aug. 12 at the Wadena County Courthouse.

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On 9/11, central Minnesota sailor woke up in the Persian Gulf, ready to fight

Michael Johnson — Fri, 10 Sep 2021 04:00:00 GMT

WADENA, Minn. — Wadena County Veterans Service Officer David Anderson recalls sleeping in his bunk on board a Naval ship in the Persian Gulf. Up to this point, he’d been in the Navy 19 years without any engagement like he was about to enter into.

That day, Sept. 11, 2001, Anderson was sleeping aboard the USS Carl Vinson when a shipmate awakened him and said someone had just flown a plane into the World Trade Center. Sleeping was no longer an option.

“As I was walking into the lounge, I looked at the television set and I watched the second airliner hit the second tower of the World Trade Center, and I looked at the guys in the lounge and I said ‘boys I think we’re at war,’ not realizing it was going to be 20 years of war,” Anderson said, recalling that day from his Wadena County office nearly 20 years later.

Each moment is still crisp in his mind.

While his home country was under attack by terrorists hijacking airplanes, everyone on board the ship had their identifications checked and all officers were carrying sidearms. A change in attitudes was at hand. Anderson had to trust that things were going to be OK for his family at home.

“You have to put a lot of faith in your family and you have to put a lot of faith in your higher power to look after your family,” Anderson said.

While American flags were flying at home, Anderson and the crew were preparing for an assault on Afghanistan like nothing seen before. That unparalleled attack in Afghanistan began less than a month after attacks on American soil.

Anderson recalls doing his work down below the deck as a Master Chief Gas Turbine Service Technician (GSMC), then surfacing to watch the onslaught of Tomahawk missiles released on terrorist targets. He didn’t pull the triggers; rather, he made sure the turbine engines were keeping the ships at the ready and on the move. The following day the crews would get debriefings on the targets hit.

Anderson said they fired massive amounts of missiles and bombs on Afghanistan, but says they were not indiscriminate: Each was a specific target using laser-guided systems or GPS.

The terrorists were able to find a way to create casualties and fear by overtaking several airplanes. The U.S. military, however, used its technology to drop missiles and bombs exactly where they felt the greatest threats were. Civilians, unfortunately, were killed in the process. As of 2021, some 71,000 civilians have been killed in Afghanistan, according to the Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs.

The destroyers remained in the Persian Gulf until just before Christmas. Anderson was at sea for Operation Enduring Freedom for 112 days and then spent Christmas in Singapore. By that time, little of any Taliban resistance remained.

Anderson looks back at the air strikes on Afghanistan as an amazing showing of the power and capabilities of the United States.

“I look back at it all with fond memories,” Anderson said. “The good, the bad and the ugly.”

20 years later

Anderson still looks back at Sept. 11, 2001, and recalls the heroes of United Flight 93, who brought down a plane near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. He believes the U.S. did what was needed following the terrorist attacks, but never should have stayed as long as they did.

“I think we were in Afghanistan way too long,” Anderson said. “We probably shouldn’t have been there past my retirement (2005).”

“Just the way they took us out now … I don’t agree with any of that,” Anderson said.

He admits, he is hurt by the way the U.S. left Afghanistan, but still loves his country.

“I love this country,” he said. “I’ve been to a lot of countries, 26 I think, there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t love this country.”

Anderson remembers to this day the moment the second airliner hit the World Trade Center. He has a clock in his bedroom that does not run anymore. He’s set it to 9:03 to remember that moment of impact. Tattoos on his arms bear mention of his years of service, like any sailor would, so others can remember his service to the country.

Anderson grew up in Sebeka, Minnesota, and lives there to this day, where he is also the mayor. He got into the Navy due to a lack of job prospects in the area in the 1980s. Prior to that he was working at a bakery, being laid off from his job with the North American Car Company. He decided to contact a recruiter on a Monday in April 1982. He took some tests on a Wednesday. He went in for preprocessing on a Thursday.

His classifier told him he’d make a great candidate for gas turbine service technician. The only catch was he’d have to either leave that day or the next day as he apparently held the last two spots for the position.

“Come to find out, it’s a sales tactic,” Anderson said. Even so, he was off to boot camp the following day.

On Friday night, Anderson arrived at Great Lakes Naval Station after saying goodbye to family and his girlfriend Donna, who is now his wife.

Naval career 1983-88: Anderson was on his first ship for five years. He witnessed his ship, the USS Leftwich blow up the Rashadat oil platform. 1988-92: Served shore duty. 1992-95: Served on his third and fourth ship, from the USS Ingersoll to the USS Crommelin. 1995-97: Served on the USS John S. McCain until 1997. 1997-2000: Served on shore duty. 2001: Started preparing for deployment in August 2001, headed for Hawaii, Singapore then onto the Persian Gulf by the first week of September on the USS Carl Vinson, a super carrier. 2003-05: Boarded USS Carl Vinson, once again conducting exercises for allied countries and keeping an eye on North Korea. Anderson retired in 2005 after 23 years of service.

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